Fate and Graves: Thick as Thieves
by KurtfromIT
Summary: Taking place 2 weeks after Miss Fortune's coup, Twisted Fate and Graves have to cheat and steal their way out of the dangerous predicament they've found themselves in. These events take place directly after the Bilgewater: Burn Tides story made by Riot in 2015.
1. Chapter 1: A Rough Beginning

**Chapter 1: A Rough Beginning**

The island nation of Bilgewater had undergone radical changes in a short period of time. A whole two weeks had gone by since Captain Fortune successfully staged a mutiny and the island has been in the midst of a power struggle ever since. The ousted crew of the once feared pirate Gangplank scattered through the streets, they now stick to the shadows scheming and plotting to overthrow the newly appointed Captain Fortune. Directly following the mutiny, Bilgewater erupted into a state of civil war with several pirate captains stepping forward to take on the role that the saltwater scourge used to fill. Without a strong central figure, regular fights had broken out and Gangplank loyalists and Captain Fortune's supporters fought and died regularly on the unforgiving streets and even more so on the open waves.

Amidst the chaos, the two unknowing participants in Miss Fortune's rise to power had taken refuge in a small bar, the bar in question belonging to an elderly acquaintance of theirs named Rook. It seemed like only yesterday that Twisted Fate and Graves were used to lure out the powerful Gangplank and have him caught off guard for a fatal blow by his nemesis, Sarah Fortune. While the two of them managed to cheat death during this ordeal, word of their survival was soon followed by an increase to both of their existing bounties.

The sounds of heavy rain pattering against a decaying roof, the murmurs of the people inside taking shelter, and the exchange of coins and hushed mumbling filled the small bar known as Rook's Nook. The bar was dimly lit with a few overhead lamps and candles around both the large bar counter and on the individual tables. Rook's Nook had a simple setup, a single bar counter which was tended to all night by the elderly Rook himself located opposite the entrance, individual tables and chairs for patrons that covered the majority of the floor, and a flight of stairs at the far left most side of the building that would take patrons to the bathrooms and guest quarters.

Slouched at the bar counter were the infamous pair of thieves, Twisted Fate and Graves, both men looking haggard and worse for wear. Twisted Fate, who was normally one to always keep up appearances, had lost his trademark trench coat and instead wore a cotton undershirt with suspenders hooked unto his pants stretching over his shoulders. His hat had also been crumbled so badly from general wear and tear that it hardly looked form fitting as it once had. Malcolm Graves was in no better shape himself, the rugged gunslinger had gone beyond looking rugged and was starting to appear disheveled and homeless. Malcolm's pants were also caked in mud and he had lost his trademark red cloak. A sleeveless leather jerkin covered Malcolm, though many could tell that it was not the right size for him. It was clear that both men had lost most of their valuables during the ensuing chaos and had taken to cheating or stealing to acquire their current set of gear.

Rook, the elderly bartender with his receding hairline and large grey sideburns-mustache combo, had been allowing the two of them to stay the nights out of respect for the past history he had with them. Having known the pair when they were younger, Rook felt as though he needed to watch over them now as he still viewed them as the young boys who would frequent his bar in its earlier years.

"You boys looks like you've had another bad day, have two more on me fellas", with that Rook passed two drinks their direction and began rinsing out a mug in front of them.

Graves was the first to acknowledge the bartender as he picked up his drink, "Thanks Rook, but honestly I'm surprised you haven't kicked us out at this point", Rook gave an accepting shrug before walking off to service customers at the other end of the counter. Malcolm then looked over at his old partner in crime before realizing that Twisted Fate had fallen asleep hunched over the bar. A forceful shove from Graves and one annoyed grunt later, Twisted Fate was awake and was looking inquisitively at his recently re-acquired partner in crime.

"Now why the hell did you go and wake me up Malcolm? I was trying to forget that I'm stuck in Bilgewater with you of all people."

"Get yourself together Tobias, we've got bigger problems to deal with," Graves takes a quick swig of his drink before continuing, "We've been stuck doing odd jobs for about two weeks now trying to save up enough money to get on a boat to Piltover. As far as I know we're at least another two weeks before we can even get to that point, let alone having to get around the dock inspection once we get over there. You know as well as I do it's only a matter of time before someone decides to collect the bounty on us"

Tobias looks around and it's clear it's taking some time for him to register everything Graves is telling him. "Graves just look at this place," Twisted Fate gestures, holding his arms wide to emphasis their location, "you and me have been stuck at Rook's bar for over two weeks now, you've lost that hunk of metal you called a shotgun and I barely have a dozen playing cards to magically enchant. Unless by some fucking miracle you know where we can get enough money for new gear, getting on a boat, and bribing the dock officials, then there isn't a whole lot we can do right now you big fucking oaf, now leave me alone so I can fall asleep!"

Without hesitation, Graves takes one big swing at the groggy card shark. Fate however was quite used to dodging these attacks from Graves and had expertly swiveled his head away from the oncoming fist. Fate looked quite pleased with his reflexes, until he realized that Graves had followed up his punch by kicking out the bar stool from under him. With a quick thud and the splintering of wood, Tobias takes a hard fall on the floor and after muttering a quick insult lunges at his old partner. The other patrons, not ones to shy away from a good fight, were eager to join the festivities and eagerly joined in on the fun.

The small bar on the outskirts of Bilgewater had launched into a full-on brawl, patrons wrestled and grabbed at one another, chairs were being thrown and broken, drinks were being spilled and smashed, and Rook the bartender quietly kept cleaning the counter having clearly seen his fair share of these fights play out.

"Well at least the two of them haven't lost their fighting spirit," Rook mutters before going back to the kitchen to finish washing the dishes.

The fighting in the bar had become increasingly rowdy and violent. In the ensuing chaos, three bar patrons huddle around a fourth who had been intently gazing at two separate pieces of scrunched up papers. The papers turned out to be bounty offers for both Malcolm Graves and Tobias Fate, their likeness drawn directly below their names and above the reward money. Greed started to fill the four men's eyes, realizing the two men in the very middle of the bar exchanging blows were the infamous duo in question. Brandishing knives they had kept hidden, the four slowly made their way past the brawling crowd towards their prey.

"You realize the longer we stay here the easier it is for someone to find us and kill us, right?" Graves asks as he blocks a right-handed jab from Fate using his shoulder. Realizing Fate had left himself open, Graves follows up with a standing kick knocking Fate back into an adjacent table, "You do remember I was normally the muscle when we used to be a team right?"

Wiping some fresh blood of his lip, Fate smiles back at Graves, never one to lose his trademark demeanor. "Yeah but I was always faste-", before finishing his sentence, Fate quickly notices a skinny man running at him with a knife. Almost on instinct, Fate side steps slightly and grabs the knife-wielding man's arm before using their own momentum to whip them into a nearby table. The assailant crashes head first into the table and after the loud cracking and splintering of wood, it was clear that the attacker was unconscious. Glancing back over at Graves, it was clear that he was giving Fate an _I told you so_ look in terms of the danger they were constantly in.

"Yeah I get it, you were right, now shut your trap and deal with the two behind you," Fate points out two more assailants behind Graves before cracking his neck in anticipation of more would-be bounty hunters.

Graves pivots quickly behind and upon identifying another knife wielding man, quickly launches a powerful right jab straight into their face. The sounds of a broken nose are accompanied by gushing blood as the man falls on his back from the momentum. The second man was able to get close to Graves, only due to the sheer luck of not being the first to get punched in the face. Nearly within knife point, the man prepares to lunge forward but is stopped when a card flies straight at his head, exploding in a small puff of magic and accompanied by a familiar _dinging_ sound. The assailant goes limp and crashes at the foot of Malcolm Graves. Looking back over his should, Graves sees Fate giving him a cocky wink. Graves kicks the immobilized man hard in the gut, incapacitating him, before walking over towards Fate.

"I'm pretty sure that was the 5th attempt this week, Tobias."

"Yeah fine, I admit you were right, are you happy now?", A few bottles of booze fly past, causing Fate to duck before continuing, "Now help me make sure there's not any more of them."

A quick glance revealed to the two of them that one other man had noticed his bloodied friends and was fighting through the crowd of brawlers to get to the exit. Fate pulls another card from his ever-decreasing deck. Before he could charge and throw the card at the runner, a wooden chair zips past him and smashes against the fleeing man's head. Splinters and wooden pieces go flying, while the hit itself causes the man to careen face-first into the wall adjacent the entrance. Fate looks over at Graves with a questioning raised eyebrow.

"Don't give me that look, it got the job done didn't it?"

"Alright I'll give you that, but what now?"

Graves looks around the embattled bar area, still in the middle of an ongoing fist fight. "Well, we can't have these guys completely trash Rook's bar, so I guess we fight everyone else now." Without hesitation Graves leaps back into the fray. Twisted Fate lets out an annoyed sigh and concedes that Graves once again makes a good point. He quickly wonders if all that time in prison actually made his friend smarter somehow. Unbelievably, Fate catches a glimpse of an unbroken bottle of spirits on the table next to him, he quickly pops the cap off the bottle and takes long refreshing drink before re-joining the fight.

After the brawl, people were either on the floor groaning from their injuries or slowly shuffling out through the exit to go back home. Hours had passed and soon the sun had risen on the mean streets of Bilgewater. Both Graves and Fate still laid on the floor of Rook's Nook, exhausted and inebriated. Before long, both were promptly splashed by a bucket of cold water. Both men yelled from the sudden sting of cool sharp water and quickly got up to see a young girl of about 10 years of age holding an empty bucket. Both had spent enough time at this bar to know that the little girl was Rook's granddaughter, Maud. Maud's short dirty blonde hair was matched only by the dirt that always covered her face. She was wearing her usual overalls and a green work shirt underneath and as most young girls in Bilgewater, could usually pass as a boy at her age.

"Grandpa said to wake you up and that he wanted to talk to the both of you, he's in the kitchen", Maud quickly walked back outside after delivering her message, most likely to run another errand for her grandfather.

Fate and Graves both groggily made their way into the kitchen, wringing out their wet clothes along the way. The pair found the old bartender seasoning a stew for the customers that would be coming in a few hours. Twisted Fate was the first to speak up among the two.

"Hey Rook, we're sorry about the mess, me and this old knucklehead just got some steam to blow off and-", Twisted Fate was quickly cut off by a ladle suddenly stuck in front of his face. If he was less prideful, Fate knew he would have stuck his tongue out to sample the stew dripping off the ladle.

"Listen, I don't mind letting the two of you bum around the bar every night, but I can't keep repairing the damn place every time the two of you decide to have a disagreement," Rook pauses to add some spices to the stew before continuing, "Now I've known the two of you since you were young, I even vouched for you when I was part of Gangplanks' crew, the Jagged Hooks. Never in those years did I ever think you two would end up like this. A bunch of damn strays with no direction in their lives! I don't care what the two of you do or how you do it but pay for the damn damages to this place and get the hell out, I'm physically too old for this."

With a solemn nod and a bit of awkward stumbling, Graves and Fate made their way out of the kitchen feeling embarrassed at the trouble they caused one of the only people in Bilgewater giving them any sort of help. The two stepped out of Rook's Nook and immediately shielded their eyes from the glaring sun. Squinting, slightly hungover, and a bit bruised up, both men did not notice Maud standing in front of them before they almost tripped over the little girl.

"Oh sorry Maud, didn't see you there," announced Graves as he gingerly pats her on the head, "We just got done talking to your pa. Don't you worry, me and Tobias over here will get him the money to fix up the bar, you have my word."

Maud, with a blank expression, simply holds out a piece of paper. She hands the paper over to Graves before silently scampering off. A satchel to her side filled with even more papers indicated to the two men that she had probably found a job delivering papers around the island.

"Rook's got one strange grand-kid," comments Twisted Fate as soon as he was sure Maud was out of ear shot.

Twisted Fate had started to walk off in the direction of the town center to find some easy marks or a quick cash-in. This part of town was unusually bustling for the current time of the day. Rook's Nook was in one of the more secluded alleyways in Bilgewater, dirt roads gave way to more dirt roads and it wouldn't be quite some time until a traveler would find their way back to the relatively well-maintained cobblestone roads. A normally quiet part of town, Fate was surprised to see a large amount of activity. As Fate walked through the alley, he passed several school kids running and playing in the streets, water from washbasins emptied into the streets from working women on the second story, and an elderly pair of gentlemen sat across from each other playing a board game. After walking a good distance down the alleyway, Fate soon realized that Graves wasn't next to him and after turning around noticed that his old friend was still slowly walking over, eyes still glued on the piece of paper that Maud had given to him. Curious and a little frustrated, Fate walked back over to check on his friend.

"Hey Malcolm! What the hell is taking so long, you forgot how to read or something?"

Looking up, Graves realizes he had been dragging his feet. He quickens his pace and upon catching up, he hands the paper to Twisted Fate.

"Tobias, this might actually be our big break," Graves points to some of the key information on the paper before continuing, "Someone's spotted a damn Noxian Treasure Fleet close by, not sure why they're even in this part of Runeterra, but this is our big break, I just got a good feeling about it."

"Hold on Malcolm, we barely have any money between you and me. I barely have a stack of cards, you don't even have that damn shotgun named Destiny, or whatever. By the way, I don't know if you've noticed, but we're not even dressed appropriate these days. Half the time I don't think people are trying to claim our bounty because we look like two drunk farmers walking around."

"Yeah but I stole three of these during the fight last night," Graves opens his jerkin slightly to display three flintlock pistols of varying designs neatly tucked away.

"Well I'll be damned, here I thought you forgot how to pickpocket," chuckling, Fate pulls a full stack and a half of cards along with two small pouches of silver from his pocket, "Well if we're being so damned honest at the moment, I helped myself to some random goodies during that fight as well. Though I could have gotten much more if you didn't near kill me last night."

Both men stopped to laugh and admire their finely tuned skills as thieves. For the first time in two weeks they both finally seemed to have a way out of Bilgewater and before long they could finally get back to their usual routine as con men.


	2. Chapter 2: Underground Connections

**Chapter 2: Underground Connections**

Malcolm Graves had just spent 30 silver serpents, the currency in Bilgewater, purchasing a delicious razorfin sandwich at a local stall in the town center. Turning to walk away, Graves raises his sandwich as a gesture of thanks to the owner, Helga the hag, and continues back into the crowd. Taking a bite into his sandwich, Graves takes stock of Bilgewater's bustling town center. The center was designed as a circular plaza, modestly paved in cobblestone walkways. Stores and taverns lined the outer edges of the town center, brimming with both customers and the sound of haggling. A large outdoor water fountain, usually filled with playing children, decorated the center of the plaza. Aside from the multiple stores and taverns around the perimeter, several dozen privately owned stalls lay scattered through out the cobblestone walkways. The stalls were arranged in no order, with multiple vendors and merchants plying their trade within. The only other notable building was the town hall which resided at the northern most point of the plaza and was flanked by the many shops and drinking holes around the outskirts.

Graves made his way through the busy center, shooing away a flock of hungry birds and side stepping a fleeing thief running off with a small entourage of angry shop keepers close behind. _Amateur_, Graves thought as he continued walking. After rounding a few more stalls and dodging an overly persistent dagger salesman, he finally spots his partner in crime. Twisted Fate had set up near the large water fountain, a square table laid out before him while he sat on a wooden crate as a makeshift chair. Opposite Fate, a trio of children had brought some small barrels to sit at the table. One could tell from their body language, they were determined to best the smiling scoundrel. Upon closer inspection, it was clear that Twisted Fate was playing the game "Three Cups and Ball" with the trio of children. From a distance, Graves could tell he was explaining the rules before unveiling a small red ball. He then watched Fate cover the ball under one of three wooden cups and promptly began to shuffle all three across the table. Fate continued to shuffle the cups smoothly, all the while taunting the kids that they would never guess correctly. A few gasps, excited mutterings, and groans later, the kids predictably guessed wrong and walked away empty-handed. The money they had used to place the bet, eagerly scooped up with a sly grin.

Graves walks up to the table and sits on the left most barrel opposite Fate, the barrel creaking at how suddenly he had sat. Still munching on his sandwich, Graves nods his head and clears his throat.

"Did you put that ball under the table again?"

Fate smiled and with some quick fiddling under the table, he produces the small red ball.

"Normally I would tuck this thing in my coat sleeves, but since I don't have a coat anymore… Well you have to improvise in our line of work, as I'm sure you know." Fate finishes the sentence by lightly knocking on the table, indicating he had tampered with it in some way.

"So, we're stealing from kids now?"

"Hey now! Those boys knew the risk, it was a perfectly legal transaction as far as I'm concerned," Fate bows his head and flips over his hat revealing his earning from scamming passers-by, "What about you? You got the bullets?"

Graves, with a mouthful of his sandwich, holds up his finger to signal for Fate to wait and proceeds to dig in his mouth. After a few seconds of digging, Graves produces three metal bullets that he hid in the back of his gums. Twisted Fate gives an approving look before Graves places them in his pocket.

"There's still four more in this sandwich, but I hate how Helga puts these in here. I know it's how she gets around undercutting the gangs, but it ruins the damn sandwich you know?"

As Fate let out a short laugh at his friend's expense, he notices two suspicious men walking determinedly towards their table. Fate wordlessly gestures with a nod, that they had company. Graves immediately draws one of the stolen pistols from the night before, making no effort to hide his intentions. He wanted to be ready in the event that these were bounty hunters once again. Surprisingly, even with the obvious warning signs presented to them, both men sat down on the two available seats at the table.

It was clear that both men were part of Miss Fortune's crew or at the very least supporters of her recent coup. The man sitting closest to Graves had no shirt on but was covered in tattoos with no discernible theme, his bald head gleaming from the sun. The other man was dressed in a full leather duster and a red scarf wrapped around his neck. He hid the lower part of his face with the scarf, but one could tell that there were scars leading from the top of his blonde hair to areas past the scarf and clothing. Both had a piece of red cloth wrapped around their left arm indicating they were one of Miss Fortune's goons. With a tilt of his head, Twisted Fate soon recognized the tattooed man.

"Little Steffen? Is that really you?" a silent nod from the man confirming Fate's suspicions, "Well I'll be damned, you grew up kid. I thought you'd be a short piece of shit forever!"

Twisted Fate had lowered his guard, but Graves was still on the defensive. He moved in closer until he was shoulder to shoulder to the man recently revealed as Steffen, pistol drawn and nuzzled into the man's adjacent leg

"Let's cut to the chase, you boys here for our bounty or are you just here for a friendly talk?" A low growl from Graves indicated he was ready for any snap movements.

The unidentified man in the duster slowly raised his hands to signal he was not a danger and began to speak.

"Sorry about the interruption gents, the name's Barley and I only came here to deliver a message from Captain Fortune herself. I used young Steffen here to find you two, he's actually met the one with the hat", the man slowly lowers his hands to grab something from his duster's pocket. He first looks to Graves to see if it would be alright to do so. After a few suspicious looks between Graves and Fate, the man receives an approving nod to proceed. Reaching into his pocket he produces a leather bag presumably filled with silver serpents and a leather-bound ledger. "Hear me out fellas, the Captain's no fool, everyone on this fucking island knows about the Noxian ship and she suspects you two know about it as well."

Graves' eyes narrow, shifting his gaze between Steffen and Barley, his hand on his pistol's trigger the whole time. Fate was far more intent on the bag of gold and the ledger, he was contemplating exactly what sort of proposition the soon to be Queen of Bilgewater had for the two of them.

"However, unlike all the other people on this island, she suspects you two would actually be dumb enough to make a go at robbing the damn thing," Barley then proceeds to place another pouch of silver on the table before continuing, "So she's willing to offer you a deal, there's just enough gold in these pouches to buy you some basic gear and that ledger should get you on a ship leaving for Piltover in three days from today. All we ask in return is that you two don't try anything stupid with that ship. It's as straight forward as that, deal?"

Fate and Graves look at each other and then back to Barley. They both knew it was a good deal, but they also both knew these kind of deals didn't come without any strings attached. Graves snorts and tilts his head towards Fate, signaling his partner to handle the talking.

"That's a mighty fine deal friend, but you have to remember that we're wanted men now. Simply put, we don't trust you," he pauses to check the area for prying ears before continuing, "So I'll tell you what, we're still going take you up on your offer. We're going to take that gold and you can count on us not showing up to whatever you got planned with that ship. But you can keep the ledger because we're not getting on any boat that you've set aside specifically for us, we clear?"

Barley's scarf masked his face, making him difficult to read. A few silent seconds pass before Twisted Fate simply shrugs and moves to scoop up both pouches of silver. Barely doesn't react, he instead looks over towards Fate then to Graves before deciding that their business had been concluded. Barley nudges Steffen and both men get up to leave. Graves eases up on his pistol and Fate adopts a relaxed position at the table, stretching as if he had finished a long nap. As Barely and Steffen start to walk off, they hear Fate whistle loudly from behind them and look back to notice the card shark pointing at Barley while holding up a red ball in his other hand.

"You want to play a game for that coat of yours?"

A few hours had passed since the eventful mid-day conversation with Barley and Steffen. The setting sun on their back, Graves and Fate made their way through one of the many winding alleyways around Bilgewater. Fate brushed his newly won duster and expertly tip-toed around the garbage and feces that litter the alleyway. Graves followed slowly from behind, he had taken to simply stepping on or kicking away garbage in his path.

"Slow down Tobias, you mind explaining to me why we're headed towards the slaughter docks? Everyone knows the Jagged Hooks still control that part of the island."

"You really don't know?", Fate asks after stopping to let Graves catch up. A shrug from Graves answers his question, "Honestly partner, I'm a bit surprised you haven't put it together. It's obvious that Fortune's crew is about to make a move on that treasure ship. The fact that Barely expressly told us to leave three days from today also tells me that's when their going to make their move."

"Sounds like a stretch to me, but what's your point?"

"Point is, Barley gave us just enough silver for new gear. That money isn't enough to actually net us a good enough boat or even bribe a crew to sail us over there" Fate adjusts his new jacket before continuing, "No matter how you cut it, we still don't have a way to reach that ship. But I've got a good feeling the Jagged Hooks might be willing to lend us a hand."

"I don't know if you've hit your head or something, but the Jagged Hooks were trying to kill us two weeks ago. I'm pretty sure the lot of them still blame us for what happened to Gangplank. And you want to ask them for help?"

Fate lowers his hat and flashes a coy smile at Graves, "We're not the real enemy Malcolm, the real fights between Fortune and the Jagged Hooks. We're just playing the sides like always."

Tapping the brim of his hat knowingly, Fate spins back around and proceeds to start walking through the alleyway once again. Graves shakes his head and sighs before proceeding to follow along, kicking and swearing under his breath at the garbage on the streets as he goes.

After about an hour of walking, Fate and Graves find themselves standing at the entrance of an moderately sized home. The home itself was nothing out of the ordinary, a two story wooden building that sat on a small hill overlooking some Slaughter Dock warehouses. There was nothing about the house that seemed out of the ordinary aside from the noises emanating at such a late hour. The noise from inside was a mixture of excited singing and the hooting and hollering of drunk sailors. The boisterous sounds grew louder as they neared the entrance.

The two men finally reach the building entrance, only to encounter a peculiar door that neither had noticed on the walk over. An iron cast door with a sliding panel for the doorman stood in between them and whatever noisy raucous laid inside. Graves looks expectantly at Fate, raising his hand towards the door to signal for his partner to take the lead. Fate bows theatrically at his friend and saunters up towards the door before rattling off three soft knocks.

Almost immediately the sliding panel flies open. From the opening, two beady eyes stare back at Twisted Fate. The pair of eyes flicker over to see Graves standing further down before honing back in on the initial solicitor.

"Password"

"Wait, what password?"

"Password"

"Uhm... Gangplank lives?"

"No password, no go"

The conversation ended as quickly as it had started, the sliding panel snapped shut and a bewildered Twisted Fate stood wide-eyed in confusion. Graves places a mocking hand on his shoulder. Fate looks over to realize that Graves was shaking his head, holding back a laugh, and had a large smug smile spread across his face.

"Wow, so that's what you look like when you get rejected?" Graves cackles loudly before pushing his wide-eyed friend out of the way, "let me show you how it's done."

Graves cracks both his knuckles and his neck before proceeding to hammer the door with 3 forceful knocks from his large open hand. Predictably, the door panel swings wide open once again and the same beady eyes stare back at Graves.

"Password."

"Don't you give me that password shit. I know that's you behind the damn door Jimmy, no one's got that ugly a voice! It's Malcolm and I just wanted to let you I still remember the damn fishery you pa lives in. Save me the hassle and open this damn door before I walk over and have a not-so friendly reunion with the old fuck!"

The panel, once again, quickly snaps shut.

"JIMMY! Open the door, you sack of shit!" Graves yells, still pounding away at the recently closed door, "I Know where you live!"

"Damn the stars Malcolm! You can't strong arm your way through everything you dumb ox!"

Suddenly, as Fate finished his complaint, the iron cast door swings open and the noise from the building floods out into the open street. Fate was once again stunned. Graves, seeing his old friend in a state of shock, lets out a gruff laugh before proceeding to walk in. Graves pats his partner on the shoulder before stepping into the building.

"I can't believe that actually worked," Fate mentions stepping through the door and composing himself, "Just please warn me next time, almost turned tail and ran after you started threatening the damn guy."

"You talking about Jimmy? Guys a damn pushover, saw him at Lenny's two days ago and talked him into giving me free soup," Graves walks past Jimmy the doorman, a surprisingly diminutive man, giving him a threatening wink before walking off. As they made their way through the room, Fate glances back and realized that Jimmy had stood on a stepping stool to talk to the two of them through the door panel.

Fate and Graves soon found themselves standing in a relatively normal living room. There were several attendees that were either hung over on the furniture or talking in a group with their backs to either a corner or a wall. Upon further inspection it was clear the raucous sounds were coming from a doorway deeper in the building.

The two men made their way over and realized that the doorway was the entrance to a basement. As they drew closer, the chaotic sounds they had heard outside began to intensify. Smoke from cigars and burning incense started to waft from the basement entrance. This caused Graves to inhale deeply, always a fan of said aroma, before beginning to proceed down the basement steps. As the two reached the basement floor, the area opened up into a very large cellar with many of the attendees arguing and exchanging silver next to a small enclosed pit. Within the pit two young-faced, but bloodied men were engaged in a bout of fisticuffs, Fate and Graves immediately recognized what they had walked into.

"Fight Club! Damn, haven't been in one of these in years," Graves exclaims, looking at Fate excitedly.

"You know what? I think I'm actually on the same page as you for once, no one does a proper fight club anymore."

The two walk over to get a closer look at the fighting area, Graves making a path through the crowd. They push pass a rowdy group of betting men and several of the serving girls stop to flirtatiously glance at Twisted Fate, who responds with his trademark smile and wink if he was able. As they walked through the cheering masses, Graves notices a few of the obvious Jagged Hooks, which were running the fight club operation, give him a knowing glance before suddenly walking off into the crowd.

"Hey Tobias, expect some trouble, I think some folks know who we are around here," Graves fingers one of the pistols in his sleeve. Not fully drawing his weapon, Graves keeps an eye out for any abnormal movement, "Tobias, you hear me back there?"

Looking back, Graves notices that Fate had begun flirting and showing off card tricks to a petite serving girl, her curled brown hair bouncing as she let out a flirty laugh. Once again, the opposite sex had proved too much of a temptation for his old partner.

_Seriously? This fucking idiot,_ Graves thought with his head shaking in disbelief. Fate becoming distracted by women was no surprise, but the night's agenda was too important to let it slide. Graves begins to walk over to the two of them before abruptly stopping after realizing he had walked into, and knocked over, a small child. Apologizing, Graves offers his hand and picks the small child off the floor. The child begins wiping the dirt off their overalls and starts collecting scraps of paper that had been knocked to the floor. Graves bends down to pick up the papers for the child before suddenly realizing who it was.

"Maud?! Kid, what are you doing here?"

"Selling papers," Maud replies monotonously while holding up the same paper she had given him earlier that morning.

"Well I see that, but why are you here? Why are you in a basement fight club?"

Shrugging, Maud simply scampers off through the crowd and out of sight. Graves makes a futile attempt at keeping up with Maud before completely losing her to the crowd. Shortly after, Fate walks up behind Graves with a questioning look.

"Hey Malcolm, wasn't that Rook's grand-kid just now?"

"Yeah it was, I just lost track of her. Strange kid."

Suddenly, while the two were distracted by Maud's sudden appearance, a small group of Jagged Hook thugs had suddenly appeared through the crowd. Brandishing cudgels, knives, and pistols of their own, the thugs stood a few meters away from the two scoundrels. The crowd, like clockwork, evacuated the immediate area and had create a circle of onlookers around both groups. Clearly, impromptu fights and scuffles were not unheard of in this building. Instinctively both Graves and Fate were ready for anything and had adopted a wary stance. Graves had a hand on one of his pre-loaded pistols, safely holstered in his jerkin's inner pockets. Twisted Fate had a card prepped in his hand, glowing with red magical energy.

Neither side made any moves, both groups simply watched and observed one another. The crowds around them soon grew, party-goers leaving the immediate fighting pit area to witness the new event. Even the bloodied fighters took the commotion as a sign to catch their breathe, stopping to rest and calling a truce. Both pit fighters even tried to catch a peak of the commotion from the pit, though neither could see from their current position. Suddenly, from somewhere within the gathering crowd, a low raspy cackle could be heard drawing closer.

"Well now, isn't this a surprise," the source of the cackle pushed pass the armed thugs and was suddenly at the head of the Jagged Hooks, "you fellas remember your old pal Daggermouth don't you?"

The man known as Daggermouth stood at about a head shorter than Graves. Much like Steffen from earlier, he was shirtless and covered in tattoos. Unlike Steffen, Daggermouth's entire body was actually one long continous tattoo depicting various sea-life, pirates, and homages to the Jagged Hook lifestyle. Dagger mouth also wore his hair in a ragged mohawk, accentuating his famous dagger like teeth.

"Daggermouth! Just the man I've been looking for, I know we've got beef with your boys in the past," Fate steps forward, cool and suave as usual, "But me and my partner have come to make amends."

Fate soon felt a forceful tug at his new coat, looking back he could tell Graves was signaling him to back off and get ready to fight. Waving off his friend's concern, Fate tugged his jacket free of his grasp and continued speaking.

"Like I said, I know we've got some bad blood to hash out but –"

"SHUT UP FATE! All these years and you've never learned how to shut your damn trap!" Daggermouth shouts, stepping forward. His entourage attempts to follow his lead, but a quick hand informs them to stay back, "You killed our men two weeks ago, you killed our captain two weeks ago, we lost Bilgewater because of you TWO WEEKS AGO! I know you two were setup by that bitch, the so-called Captain Fortune, but I still personally put half the blame on you two dumb asses."

"Baby steps I guess, at least you're admitting we didn't mean to be part of the coup. Anyway, we brought this for you," Fate slowly proceeds to reach into his new coat, causing the entire room to tense up. Many of the onlookers step back in a collective gasp and some of the Jagged Hooks quickly take aim at the scoundrel. After a few seconds, Fate produces a crumpled piece of paper and reaches out to hand it to Daggermouth.

Daggermouth looks suspiciously around the crowd of onlookers and then at his lackeys behind him. He didn't trust Fate, but he also didn't want to be looked at as someone to be scared away by a piece of paper. Making his decision, Daggermouth calmly walks over and snatches the paper out of Fate's hand and begins to read. It doesn't take him long to finish, he looks up from the paper with a confused expression.

"The Noxian treasure ship? The whole island knows about the damn thing, you honestly came all the way here to tell me this?"

"No, we came all the way here to tell you that Captain Fortune is going to be raiding that ship in three days from today," as Fate finished the last sentence, he realized he had caught everyone's attention, "As a gambling man, I can tell you that without a shadow of a doubt this is true. What's more, I also believe we can sneak in during the ensuing fight between Noxus and Fortune's Crew. Ultimately, we're stealing that treasure from underneath both of them. I know you folks like gold and I know you folks hate Sarah Fortune, all we're asking for is a cut of the profits."

Silence followed for quite some time. Onlookers and Jagged Hooks look to Daggermouth to set the tone. Daggermouth had buried his face in the paper, clearly thinking over everything Fate had just said. Graves on the other hand, was once again tugging at Fate's coat, trying to signal him to get ready to run. Once again, Fate waves away his concerns. Finally, Daggermouth begins to laugh.

"Well I guess that incessant talking you do finally did some good for me. Now that you've told me all that, there's nothing stopping me from ripping out your traitorous throat," remarked Daggermouth, his vile teeth gleaming as he laughed.

The group of Jagged Hooks behind Daggermouth all brandished their weapons once again, while other Jagged Hooks in the crowd started to slowly pushing their way towards the duo. Graves quickly moves to pull a pistol from his Jerkin. However, Fate had moved to stop his friend from pulling out his weapon and instead cleared his throat.

"And if you kill us, you'll lose the best damn chance you've got at getting that treasure," Fate announces as loud as he can. Daggermouth's body language suddenly changed, he quickly waves off the oncoming thugs, "If you want your hands on that mountain of gold in there, then you're going to need our help. Pardon my bragging, but me and Graves are the best damn thieves on this island and there's not a single person alive that even comes close."

Immediately, hushed whispers were shared among the crowd. Twisted Fate had struck a chord with them. Graves and Twisted Fate were infamous across all of Runeterra and there truly was no contenders to match their growing list of larceny. No other thief in Runeterra had made such successful careers, let alone both Graves and Fate put together as a team.

"I don't trust you Fate, but I hate that bitch more than I hate you," announces Daggermouth, picking at his razor sharp teeth, "I want the two of you back here tomorrow, we've got a lot to go over. By the way, drinks are on these two tonight."

The crowd erupted into a cheer, weapons were holstered, and the onlooking masses went to pat the two thieves on the shoulder. The crowd and the fighting pit continued to beat with life again as the crowds returned to resume the festivities. Serving girls are immediately swarmed for drinks and more staff appear to help doll out alcohol to the masses. As the crowd roars and cheers, Daggermouth pushes pass some of the masses to stand directly next to the troublesome pair.

"I don't want to ruin the party, but me and Malcolm are kind of tight on money right now," Fate explains, rubbing the back of his neck, "I don't think we can actually pay for everyone's drink at the moment."

"What are you talking about? If you're telling the truth, then you can pay me back three days from now," Daggermouth says, a look of healthy suspicion still on his face, "that payment will have interest added on, naturally."

Fate concedes and tips his hat to him, ever so slightly. Laughing and feeling confidant that he had gotten the better of Twisted Fate, Daggermouth disappears back into the crowd. The pair make their way out of the basement and find themselves in the first floor of the building. Graves looks around and finds relief seeing the first floor had emptied out. Looking over his shoulder, he catches Fate giving him a sly grin.

"Sorry about the theatrics partner, but I had to get you back for making me look like a chump at the door," Fate explains, shrugging his shoulders.

"A warning would have helped, but it's water under the bridge now," Graves looks around the room one more time and lowers his voice to continue, "You're really going to risk everything with that hunch of yours? You're putting a lot of stock on Fortune's boys hitting that ship exactly three days from now."

"Partner, we're gambling men. You and I live and die by the roll of the dice, this ain't any different."

Surprisingly, the two men share a kindred smile and hearty laugh before heading back down to the basement to find a serving girl with drinks. Content to let their fates be decided by the luck of the draw.


End file.
